My Double Rainbow Halloween Costume

A few days ago I blogged about my recycled Halloween costumes from past years. And at the end, I said I would reveal my 2010 costume after the National Wildlife Federation’s Halloween party. Well, here it is!

*drum roll*

A Double Rainbow!

About half the people who saw me thought, “Oh how nice, a rainbow, or two, I’m not sure, that’s a bit confusing.”

The other half broke out laughing because they were familiar with the YouTube video that went super-popular earlier this year.

You might be wondering, “What does it mean?”

What is the Double Rainbow video?

The Double Rainbow video shows a person who is completely amazed when he sees two full rainbows in the sky. He video-taped the rainbows and his very exuberant reaction. As a person who is prone to extreme shows of excitement, I really loved this video.

People around the world reacted to this video with huge amounts of creativity. They composed songs and incorporated it into comedy acts. They video-taped their children acting out the scene, because in a way, kids get exactly how this person was feeling.

For some reason, watching this video makes us want to laugh and tell others about it. Who knows why? But it is a human reaction that I have seen replayed over and over – and at least 18 million people have experienced some version of it online.

I chose to dress up as the Double Rainbow because I was so impressed by how one person’s video could kick off so much creativity.

Unfortunately, now my children run around yelling “What does it mean?” and other choice quotes from the video.

How did I make this year’s costume?

It’s a very large cardboard box, folded almost in half to create a space for the arm straps. Those are made from orange cotton. The box was painted, mostly by my husband.

Glued on the box are lots of plastic caps. At the National Wildlife Federation’s staff recycling center, we gather plastic caps from bottles for Aveda’s Recycle Caps program. I felt the caps added “zing” to the costume. They are glued on with a hot glue gun.

A small speaker system hanging from my neck played a variety of double rainbow songs. The speaker system glowed with rainbow lights.

This costume won the award in the recycling category of our Halloween contest.

Halloween costumes at National Wildlife Federation

How did other people dress up?

Seamus won the “traditonal” costume category. Seamus is the pet pug of Em Gaziano. He was a banana split. I’m so sorry I did not get a photo of him! I’ll ask Em for one.

Aislinn Maestas won the “work-related” costume category by dressing up as a lion with a big moustache. She portrayed Jim Lyon, our Vice President of Conservation Policy.

In our team costume category, the prize went to a group that dressed up as our Hike and Seek program.

Great representation from lots of people who contribute to our web presence and blog!

So enjoy your Halloween and here’s a thought: “May I never miss a sunset or a rainbow because I am looking down.” — Sara June Parker